Naruto: Rise of the Fallen
by Dark Spidey
Summary: When dealing with things that you will no longer have in control after your death, it's always wise to have a back up plan. The one regarding Naruto had the effect of dropping him in the middle of Jump City California. The makings of an epic tale R
1. Chapter 1

Death wasn't at all as he expected. He was aware of it, for a start, even if that awareness was of a fragmentary, even if short lived. His consciousness came and went in waves, drifting in and out on unfathomable tides. He sank and surfaced at the whim of forces he couldn't comprehend nor control. All he could do was ride it out with them and hope that death would be kind to him.

There was a surprising amount of pain, considering that his body no longer existed, moments ago before he felt darkness cover his vision he remembered the searing, burning pain of having fragments of souls, both tailed beast and human being shoved inside of his own body. Forever leaving them sealed in a dream like illusion within him. He sacrificed his own life to end the lives of those who had caused pain for so many innocent people, and to bring about world peace to all shinobi nations.

Slowly, as the cold fingers of death began to drag him ever so slowly into the darkness as he continued to sink. Further and further into its embrace, he couldn't help but notice that his mind began to see visions, and hear voices too. They were harder to rationalize. But some of them were familiar, such as Sandaime soothing him when he was but a child, as he did for many years.

But there was an odd feeling he felt as he continued to be pulled into whatever it was that death was supposed to pull him into. Except, something felt different, out of place somehow. Naruto Uzumaki felt himself falling.

He could have really sworn that he felt the wind rushing, howling in his ear, ripping through his lengthy blond spiky hair. It came as a surprise to him when the visions and memories began to evaporate, and the voices he'd been hearing went with them. For a welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. He could rest, and be. His heart simply rose as his eyes suddenly shot open, his mouth sucked in a deep, raspy breath of air and he coughed violently.

A groan left Naruto's lips as he shook his aching head to clear his thoughts as he slowly pushed himself off of his hands and knees, the way he felt was unlike anything he'd experienced before and he couldn't help but wonder why in the world was going on. Wasn't the technique he used supposed to take his life in the end?

Only once choice gave him time to think this strange happening through. Only one decision came with the option of changing his mind later. Only one fork in the road before him left him alive, and not dead. He didn't know exactly know how it happened, but he really was truly alive. He slowly got up, and looked down at his body. The skin was fine, smooth and unblemished without a hint or sign that he had been in mortal combat. He flexed his fingers, feeling stronger and different somehow.

The drowning feeling he had felt was gone. He felt better than he ever had before, as though he had awakened from a wonderful sleep. Instead of pondering the issue, his eyes took in everything around him, making the dark alley around him a montage of bright colors from neon signs and bright colors that danced in front of his eyes.

Naruto took his hand and brushed it across his bare chest, feeling the smoothness of it and marveling at his amazing return to health. It seemed almost too good to be true. He flexed his hands and his knuckles moved the same way as always; his fingernails were surprisingly neatly trimmed and even. The only odd detail was that he would be running around in battered and beat up pants that looked like they had been through the first, second and third shinobis war that were almost exposing his boxers to the world.

His ears met a cacophony of different sounds, a small auditory assault which made him wince slightly. His nose was assaulted with sweet, musky, putrid, spicy, wet and metallic scents. He felt as though he was under the affect and control of some kind of psychotropic drug and that he would soon circum to some kind of sensory overload, his queasy stomach a measure of that.

After what felt like days to the Sage, but was mere seconds in the real world, his brain began to adapt to the bizarre changes. He began to successfully interpret the information from his ears first, the heavy footsteps and breathing of nearby passerby's walking along the sidewalk, his own rapid breathing as he gulped in large amounts of air as he slowly made his way out of the alley he had landed in moments ago.

"Where… in the world am I?" He spoke to himself, he headed out of the alley, his eyes and ears took in the strange and wondrous sights and smells all at once. Buildings were so tall that they seemed to pierce the very heavens with their size alone, he felt a bit claustrophobic somehow.

Something blurred past his vision, his hand shot out and grabbed a piece of paper that must have been floating in the breeze. He was sure that even if the street lights were off, he still would have been able to read the words on it. 'Welcome to Jump City, California!'

Taking it in hand he quickly began to scan the contents of the pamphlet and for a moment the words seemed foreign to him somehow. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, or at least he though he did, until the words suddenly seemed to become clearer in his eyes until he could understand it.

He was very surprised at that, but he felt that it must have had something to do with his body and these bizarre and strange changes all of a sudden.

From what he was able to read from it, the weather here seemed usually bright and sunny, giving an optimistic feeling to it all in the day, but for multiple reasons, Naruto felt boxed in somehow, and a cold feeling slivered into his gut. He wrapped his hands instinctively around his stomach.

_I may be alive but I'm so hungry, I wonder if I'll find a place to eat around here or something. _The young man thought, even though he did feel _extremely _better, as if he was on top of the world, he was _unbelievably_ hungry. He peered down the street and realized that the sidewalk was practically barren; the sounds of dogs barking and cats screeching were audible in the dark of night. The most he wanted to do now was to eat, take a bath and find a place to sleep.

A movement to the side several feet away, the slight shift in the shadow and his keen nose picked up a greasy smell, one that caught his attention and made him want to gag. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as a figure stepped out into the sidewalk, blocking his path, arms crossed over his large and burly chest.

"What's up stranger, you new to Jump City?" the man asked, his voice was thick with a southern accent.

Naruto didn't answer, he just kept his shoulders straight, his head pointing straight ahead, and his ears picked up several footsteps within the vicinity. Even though he couldn't see them visibly, he could smell them and that was good enough for him. His head never moved, but slowly his eyes trailed towards the many spots that a person could use as cover or to hide.

"You gotta pay to walk my street kid," The burly man went on. "I'll even be nice enough to be your guide too, savvy?" With that he bowed and came up showing a mouthful of brown and yellowed teeth.

Naruto didn't bother answer him, but he was aware of such tactics from where he came from, a favorite tactic among bandits used to intimidate common folk for money, though this was a first that this had ever happened to him. Still he didn't answer, and the burly man shifted, throwing wide his coat to reveal a strange square under his belt, which he assumed was a weapon.

"So kid, how much cash do you have to offer?" the man asked.

Naruto started to tell him step out of his way but changed his mind and gave a weary sigh. He really didn't need this right now, but seemed that fate loved to toy with him for some reason. Even after being so kind as to let him live.

You deaf or something kid?" said the man, and he drew his strange weapon and advanced another step. "Here, I'll spell out for you. You pay me, or me and my friends will take you money after we fill with enough lead to make you a paper weight, go it?"

Naruto didn't reply, didn't move, didn't even bother to weave any hand-seals or use any of the weapons sealed on his person. How he knew that they were still there he didn't know and neither could he explain. He just simply stood there, and his defiance seemed to anger the burly man all the more.

The man glanced to the side—to Naruto's right—and he wasn't surprised when he felt something metallic and cool pressed against his neck. His eyes glanced down at the knife for a fraction of a second, and he noticed a shift to his left, just slightly, but the ninja caught on quite clearly. Another of this robber's companions, holding a similar weapon in the shadows of another alleyway several meters away. These men were no contest to Naruto, not at all. He saw the sneer of revulsion and disgust on the man's face, looking at him as if he was some kind of exotic but repulsive creature.

"Now," said the burly man. "Last chance for you kid, what's it going to be?"

Naruto simply glared at the man, and his top lip curled up a bit, revealing long straight white teeth and _really _pointed canines. He didn't know why, but he knew he looked menacing. The man wearing the sun glasses didn't seem so confident anymore, but Naruto didn't make a move yet. He simply stood there, waiting, watching and glaring at the burly man. It was obvious that there were about four guys all together. One was in the front, one behind him, and the last two that hid on the left and right alley. So well he could the sage read the movements and body languages of men, he could discern how a person felt or guessed what they were thinking.

He could hear the man's racing heartbeat racing in his chest, he could see his sweat slowly trickling down his forehead, slowly sloping down his face and the glasses on his face were visibly shaking. Naruto took that as a sign, and it would be he who would make the first move.

Naruto grabbed the man's wrist and simultaneously struck the man's chest with a chakra infused strike, surprising him completely as he was disarmed of his bladed weapon and rendering him unconscious in one fell swoop before he motioned the knife in the direction of the man who was hiding in the alley, and as he planned, the knife hit home in his shoulder.

The man cried out, taking his eyes off of him for only a moment as he felt the hot, lancing pain in his body. That was all the ninja needed as he moved with blinding speed and agility, clearing the distance between himself and his assailant.

The man looked on with growing alarm as the boy was now in his face, up close and personal. He fired his gun on reflex. The shot connected with the boy's shoulder, but he was too alarmed and gripped by fear of that animal like growl that had left the young man's lips, his eyes narrowed at him before he chopped him across the throat. Naruto grabbed the knife from his shoulder as he flipped over and slammed deeply into a dumpster, he slammed into it dully before he dropped to the floor with a groan.

His ear perked up at the footsteps pounding against the ground, and he bolted for cover in the shadows as the wall was being peppered by automatic pistols, spraying debris and brick peelings everywhere. Finally the bullets in the chambers were empty and smoking, a long moment past and there was a sudden calm that suddenly came. The leader couldn't help but feel anxious about the situation; he cursed his own underestimation of the enemy.

A long moment passed.

"Damn it, where the hell is he?" the shooter cried out, obvious fear and frustration in his voice. "Mark, did you see him?"

Another long moment passed.

"Damn it, where did he go?" the man questioned, unable to comprehend how in the hell someone could move like that. It was so fast that he was unable to register anything at all. "Mark, where is he?"

"Right behind you," Came a whisper in his ear. A chop flashed, slicing his weapon in half like a hot knife through butter and then, before the stunned man could begin to react, a hand grabbed his throat and hoisted him effortlessly into the air; like he weighed absolutely nothing at all.

The man shook, petrified, his mouth slack and Naruto felt him shake in his grasp. "P please….I-I...I have a wife, yes, and children, lots of chil…"

Naruto smashed him clear across the jaw, rendering him unconscious easily. He dropped him to the ground softly and watched him land into a heap. The sage knew that he could have killed these men if he had wanted too, quite easily in fact, but he chose against it as he did not know how things worked in this world.

"Try coming up with a better lie, baka," Naruto answered, though the man could not hear"

Peering over towards the opposite alley, the fourth assailant was unconscious also and was resting against a wall. Naruto had taken care of him when the leader had opened fire with that strange weapon he had in his hand, he looked at his shoulder and saw that something metallic popped out and his fingers caught and inspected it.

_Never seen anything like that before, little bugger stung a little. _Naruto noted, before pocketing the bullet, noting that the moment his body ejected the bullet his shoulder sealed the wound up automatically. He felt a breeze sweep through and realized that he was almost, practically next to being naked and that would not do. Now where was he going to find clothes at a time like this?

His eyes trailed across the forms of the four men, and an idea came to him along with a wicked smile. _Well now, it wouldn't do me any good if I go around in what I have on. And they did almost rob me, so……_

With a shrug of his shoulders he grabbed the men and dragged them into an alley.

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(Ten minutes later)

"Okay, now this is more like it" Naruto spoke to himself, looking at his reflection in a mirror that had been conveniently thrown away. He had to admit that the clothes fit him like a glove, it was perfect. "Wow, it's like I'm a whole new man or something."

(Think of Albert Wesker's clothing from Resident Evil 5, shades included ^_^)

His stomach growled viciously, causing him to wince and scratch his deeply whiskered cheek sheepishly. A blush of embarrassment was present on his cheeks. "Alright, now that I got the clothing situation taken care, I just need to find some food somehow."

Slowly, Naruto began to sniff the air, searching for a sign that something was edible in the vicinity. It took a while and some concentration before he locked to a scent, it was faint, but there nonetheless though it seemed to be accompanied with music?

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders before he made sure the sunglasses were on properly before he got into action. He jumped fifteen feet into the air, and landed softly on the edge of the rooftop. Above him the sky was completely overcast. The clouds were black with shades of grey, meaning that it was going to rain soon and he hoped that it didn't rain.

The soft grumble of his stomach reminded him of his mission to get some food in his gut. Slowly, but gradually he began to follow the smell of food, letting his nose be his guide.

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"Friend Robin, what is it that we are searching for again?" Starfire asked through the Titans communicator as he flew through the air of Jump City.

"I told you Star," Robin answered, crouched on the top of a building. His jaw was set and his eyes were looked about for anything out of the ordinary. It was late, and he'd been sleeping soundly in his bed when the computers alarm had sounded, signaling that there was an abnormally high energy signature had just popped up into the middle Jump City. It was so massive that the machine couldn't fathom just what it was, and overloaded itself when the limiter went beyond the maximum capacity. "We're looking for the cause of the large energy signature that just popped up out of nowhere, when you communicator starts beeping you'll know that it's close by."

"Uh, dude," Beast Boy interjected, dropping in from the sky as an eagle to land on a roof. "What if it was just a glitch in the system or something, I mean it's not like it hasn't happened before and it can't be nothing bad or anything, right? How the heck are we going to find something like that?"

"A glitch?" Starfire questioned.

"A glitch is a kind of malfunction Starfire," Raven intoned from the passenger's side of the T car. "Even so glitches don't move on foot and make an entire super computer explode, it's obviously alive and if we're near it I should be able to sense it."

"Same with my bionic eye," Cyborg added, while yanking the wheel to the right to navigate through a left turn. "And if it's dangerous we just kick its butt, sounds fair BB?"

"Oh." BB replied stupidly.

Robin sighed and flipped off his communicator before shoving it back into his belt. He and his team had been searching the streets for at least an hour or more maybe. He couldn't help but mentally curse in his mind and pinch the bridge of his nose, a growl built up in his throat. _Come on already, something with that much energy shouldn't be able to go unnoticed without leaving a trace._

The teenager sighed and stood up. As he did, his communicator began to beep rapidly. His eyes widened behind his mask before he whirled his eyes towards the shadow at the corner of his vision, just in time to see a tall figure disappear into the shadows. "Found you," Robin growled and took off after the figure.

The shadow had jumped clear across the next building with ease, and was steadily moving. Robin followed without hesitation, though a part of him screamed that this was definitely a bad idea. A really bad idea. Robin reached a hand for his communicator, but stopped inches from it.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was Slade somehow, the man had always haunted the deepest reaches of his mind. If this really was him then _he _was going to be the one to bring him down, once and for all.

The figure leapt powerfully across the next building, clearing a fifty foot jump like it was nothing to him, the moon casts his shadows over his billowing coat on the streets below. Robin, with the help of his cable was able to jump after him, his eyes narrowed, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. His heart was pounding and racing in his chest, blood roared in his ears. _It has to be Slade, it has to be! _He pumped his arms faster as he ran, not even slowing down for a second more. The figure matched Slade's build almost identically, he was sure of it.

"Stop!" Robin yelled, but he saw that he was promptly ignored. His ire flared at that, causing him to scowl and reach into his utility belt. He pulled out two batarangs and as he leapt to the next building he threw them with all his might.

They ripped through the air as they made their way towards their target, and Robin couldn't help but visibly gape as the two tails of his trench coat simply blew up with an intense force, knocking them out of the way. He faltered at the sight, but recovered and continued racing after the figure.

Robin snarled when the figure continued to increase the distance between them, he wouldn't allow it and neither would he let this guy get away. He pulled out a sticky exploding disk, narrowing his eyes in concentration before throwing it just as he did his batarangs just moments before. A grin of triumph marred his face when he saw the tails of his coat tried to brush them off like his other projectiles, but instead stuck firmly and exploding in a might flash of white light.

The figure was pushed violently across the gravel roof, and grunted in pain as he slammed into a billboard before dropping to the floor. Robin landed on the roof about ten feet away from the figure as he shook the cobwebs from his head, and got back to his feet. Robin didn't even give him time to recover as he bum rushed him, colliding hard with his chest.

The two fell to the ground in a heap with Robin on top, giving him the advantage in height. He reared his fist back to punch the shadowed figure in the face, but man lashed out first with a sucker punch to his lower jaw, followed by a kick in his stomach. Robin flew into the air but recovered quickly with a flip, he landed woozily on his feet and his hands up at the ready. He couldn't help but wince in pain though, his jaw and stomach hurt like hell.

Just as the figure stood back up, the moon came out behind a large gray cloud and shone down on them both. Robin narrowed his eyes at his opponent, and noted that this guy was most definitely not Slade. Not in the least bit.

He was tall and broad shouldered with deep spiky blond hair that seemed to reach down mid back, six feet tall of wiry build and what appeared to be whisker like markings on his cheeks, _deep _whisker markings. Robin couldn't see his eyes, but he saw his brows narrowed at him for the sneak attack.

He felt something shocked him and quickly yanked his communicator that had sparks dancing around it before it turned off completely, and then stopped. The Boy Wonder was positive that this was the guy with the freaked up energy reading. He watched as he brushed the dirt off of his coat, but kept his eyes on him nonetheless.

"Well, that was unexpected," He spoke before he folded his arms across his chest. "Alright you got my attention, what the hell do you want?"

"I want to know who you are NOW!" Robin shouted, his teeth bared and his nostrils flared up.

Naruto simply snorted at that and simply looked at that guy, before turning back on him and spoke. "No, I don't believe I have to tell you anything, little boy" he said calmly, but couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't know why but this guy reminded him of Sasuke and the way he was during their Genin days, one of his biggest character flaws was his anger and temper. So if this guy was anything like Sasuke, in the attitude department anyway, then he should have a short fuse and lose his patience in 3…2…1

Naruto motioned out of the way from the strike of a bo staff that was headed for his back, before he flipped backwards and cricked his neck. He could tell that this was going to be a rather long night, but he supposed that he could spare a few minutes.

Robin scowled menacingly behind his mask and took and offensive stance, his staff held rigidly in his hands. "I'll show you what this _little boy _can really do," he snarled and leapt at Naruto with a shout of anger. He swiped his staff down, aiming at blond guy's head, but his arms were jolted to a stop, and his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

Naruto had caught his staff between the gap of his index and ring finger, holding him in place quite easily. He took advantage and slammed his foot directly into his neck, sending him exploding backwards into an air-condition unit into tin foil. Robin didn't even have time to worry about the pain as he yelped when he saw something red flash in his direction and he got the hell out of dodge's way. Slamming into the spot where he had been resting moments ago.

The Boy wonder realized that his bo staff had disappeared, figuring that his opponent had it he looked up and instead saw that his opponent was instead armed with what appeared to be a large scythe, a three bladed one to be exact. What stood out uniquely about it was that the blades looked like razor sharpened fangs of a viper and the handle itself looked to be beautifully made out of some kind of strong, shiny red and black material, but shone like it was marble in the moon light. The grip was had a black and crimson material and at the end what appeared to be a coil was fastened around the end of it, and seemed to somehow reach inside of the guy's coat.

With his weapon he swung it a few times before posing at Robin threateningly.

"That's a wicked looking scythe you got there, I don't believe I've never seen anything like that," Robin said, pulling out another collapsible Bo staff from his belt. "I'm assuming its custom made."

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't" Naruto shrugged, not at all wavering his weapon away from his opponent, and quirked his head to the side. "Either way bird boy, you're going to get bitten by Anko here if your not careful."

"Ready to fight," Robin challenged.

"As ready as I'll ever be, _little boy_" Naruto simply taunted. "Show me you strength"

Robin visibly grimaced on hearing that remark, a growl built up his throat. No one was going to get away calling him a little boy, no way, this guy was a threat and he was going down hard. He charged with his staff once again, and gave another yell as he threw himself at his opponent. All the while his opponent simply watched him intently as he clashed and evaded all of his strikes, like a serpent, and that annoyed him. He maneuvered himself with grace and fluidity; all the while he held an emotionless look on his face.

Robin was having great difficulty landing a solid blow on the stranger because of that crimson and black coil that was attached to the safe. He continuously used and flashed it in his face or looped around his leg, even though he tried to keep his attention on the blond which resulted in his confusion and miscalculation. It effect, Naruto was able to land a series of strikes on him, resulting in deep bruises, and when Robin reached out to strike at him again. Naruto simply sidestepped and speedily smashed him in the gut with the butt end of his scythe, causing the young Titan to roll away on the gravel.

The Boy wonder grasped his chest in pain, wheezing and gasping several times in pain and loss of breath. He held his aching stomach while holding his staff for support, trying to get his strength back.

"Surely _little boy_," Naruto hefted his weapon his shoulder, dragging his hand through his spiky hair. "This isn't the best that you got is it? You spent all that time chasing me to only show me that pathetic flailing around you call bojutsu? Poor performance indeed."

"This isn't over yet," Robin growled while forcing himself back up. He gripped his bo staff tightly, ignoring the burning and searing pain in his stomach and muscles. "I'll show you!!!"

"Then show me"

Robin engaged Naruto again, this time, more fiercely than before.

He appeared to be pushing Naruto back with the amount of adrenaline that pumped into his system. Robin felt confident that he was about to corner this guy. That however was shot down to hell when he started pushing him back, forcing him to fight harder against him. He took a swipe at his feet, but Robin barely jumped over the long crimson blades and flipped backward as Naruto threw his scythe at his neck. Getting back to his feet quickly, Robin quickly deflected a cut aimed at his neck, he was sure that he warded off his attack, he was positive even, but soon felt a stinging sensation on his face as something warm trickled slowly down his cheek.

His gloved hand reached up and saw that his left cheek was bleeding across and he cut itself reached his ear. Robin was shocked.

"You act as if you've never seen your own blood before." Naruto simply stated, as the edges of his scythe were stained a bit with the other boy's blood. He flicked it away and stepped back, giving him some room to soak in what happened. Robin was stupefied and he couldn't believe that this stranger managed to penetrate through his defense, twice, and this time he made him bleed. The only one who was able to make him bleed like this was Slade, the thought of that masked man only made to increase his present anger further. Clenching his teeth, he growled as he braced his staff and aimed it at Naruto, again.

"Are you sure you want to continue this little pissing contest _little boy,_ Naruto warned, his face held no emotion whatsoever. "Why don't you accept your loss like a man and give up, there's no point in throwing yourself at a wall if it's not going to go anywhere."

Robin's eyes narrowed darkly. "I'll make you regret that!"

"Come make me," Naruto said. "Show me what you made of, _little boy_

Coming at him again, Robin battled him with even more aggression than he did before. Naruto simply returned it equally, refusing to concede to the boy's offense of this deadly duel. The Boy Wonder refused to lose a third time in one night. He was one of Jump City's defenders of justice; he was trained in martial arts and the bo staff by the Batman himself when he was his sidekick.

A hero so well known that his very name and reputation alone made people think twice before engaging him, a name that instilled fear and intimidation within the hearts of even the most hardened criminals everywhere. Robin had left him because he had to prove that he could be the best, just like him. But for the life of him he couldn't break through his defense and his offense shook his staff arm multiple times as the number of hits and cuts he'd accumulated seemed to increase.

Not only from his weapon alone, but from his fists and feet as well.

This guy was pushing him to the very limit of his abilities, forcing him to give everything he had. His movements were as polished as the pole of the scythe he was holding in his hand, his moves were coordinated and yet they weren't, he was everything and nothing at the same time. This guy was unpredictable.

At that point, Robin was in his own world. To him, nothing and no one else existed except for him and this guy he was facing. Strike after strike, hit after hit, Naruto kept on coming with a speed and strength even he had a hard time dealing with and it seemed like he was only getting faster and his monstrous strength seemed to increase with each blow he landed. He turned and made to run from him, Robin pursued him, only seconds later he leaped on the back end of billboard and sent himself over his head, surprising him.

He speedily turned just in time to receive a kick in the face, which sent him spinning into the ground in a heap. Robin quickly moved, just in time to avoid another slash from the crimson weapon that rend where he had been standing moments ago. He got back to his feet, nursing the shallow cut that now appeared on his right cheek from a kick that had missed his face completely. Naruto spun his weapon on his fingers with expert attention and care, before he posed it back at the masked super hero.

"Time to wrap this up," Naruto suggested. Snarling at him, Robin gripped his weapon and had prepared to meet him again. But that option was denied to him when he suddenly appeared in front of him and slashed down viciously. Robin barely managed to evade the blades as it sliced off a few strands of raven hair off of his head. Not giving him a time to think, Naruto came at him sheer stamina, cold unrelenting prejudice and sheer strength.

_Damn it, who the hell is this guy, _Robin thought frantically as he continued to come after him. He tried backing away to make some distance between them, but he just kept on coming without signs of relent of that he was tired in anyway. He really didn't know how much more of this contest he could take as Naruto kept shoving his scythe in his face, and Robin had to muster using every ounce of strength he could dig up just to dodge and get the hell out of the way, only each time he did so he received a shallow cut for his efforts.

"Disappointing," Naruto noted as he continued his attack, he sensed his panic and used it to his advantage. "I guess I overestimated you abilities a bit there, though I suppose it can't be helped, you disappoint me. Is that really the best you got?"

Robin cried out in pain as he rolled on his back, gasping deep breaths into his burning and aching lungs, he was able to make out Naruto standing over him through the tears in his eyes, and he groaned in pain. He tried to force himself to stand, but his arms couldn't support his weight, and he ended up trembling on his hands and knees.

His masked eyes looked up and saw the blond man standing over the edge of the building they had been fighting on just moments ago. His jacket was only dusty from when he threw that exploding disk at him, but there wasn't even a scratch on his person. "The wounds I gave you were very shallow so you will not die of blood loss, so count yourself lucky that it was not my aim to end your life. You only have yourself to blame, tailing someone whose capabilities you know nothing about was a very foolish and dangerous error on your part. Though I should expect such a thing from a foolish _little boy _like you, I'll let you off with a warning. Don't. Follow. Me."

He cast one last look at the masked teenager before he jumped into the night sky, landing on another building and was a blur in the distance. Robin watched him go, still clutching his aching stomach with a gloved hand. He woozily stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily against a wall, questions assaulted his mind. _Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?_

The Boy Wonder didn't know how much time passed on the roof, but he knew that it must have been a while since his cuts had stopped bleeding, and he'd been dozing off until his communicator suddenly crackled to life, followed by Cyborg's voice.

"Yo Robin, we found it! The energy signature made a beeline towards a Warehouse on 6'Th Street."

At that Robin grabbed the communicator that was lying in the gravel, pushing past the pain he'd felt just moments ago. "What was that, Cyborg?" he barked, his voice was rough from his multiple losses, and anger.

The half-robot faltered at his leader's gruff tone, but answered nonetheless. "Uhhh, the energy source we're looking for, we found it but we haven't confirmed visual. Its in a warehouse on 6th street, the others are already there, but it looks like there a part going on"

"Alright, I'm on my way," Robin cut the call. Luckily, 6th street was only a couple of blocks away from his position, so it wouldn't be too taxing to get there. Robin glared spitefully at the spot where that blond guy had been standing, his hand brushed against the cut on his right cheek that had stopped bleeding. _If you really believe that I'm going to let you waltz around Jump then you got another thing coming, I'm gonna beat my answers out of you. One way or another._

Robin vowed, before he got back to his feet and made a sprint towards his awaiting team.

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_Hmmm, this must be the place where the smell if originating from _Naruto thought as he slunk his way through the swaying and grinding bodies of teenagers he didn't know, dancing to the pounding beat of rock. Colored lights flashed in tune and different shades of red, orange, blue, and Naruto was really glad that he was wearing shades to shield his eyes from the multi colored assault. _Now all I have to do is find it and chow down._

He had to admit that he had been sidetracked with dealing with that little kid, but he was partly thankful for the exercise he got out of it. Everything was working at optimum efficiency, and he was just as fast and strong as he was before, maybe even a bit more; maybe. But to be honest he didn't really see that boy as a challenge in his eyes, and he knew that if he wanted to he could have killed him from the very beginning. But chose not to because he didn't feel that he should die, and that he wasn't a major threat to him anyway, self preservation was his main goal for the moment and after doing so would he then figure out what he would do next.

Initially he had believed that it would have been difficult to sneak into this 'party'. All he did was simply walked through the door, and blend in. Oddly enough, it did surprise him when the bouncer and several others who were in line openly gawked at him, and gave him a small smile as she waved him through.

Naruto slowly made his way through the swooning bodies of teenagers dancing all around him. Most of them were clad in outfits that were… very stimulating, he couldn't help but try to keep his head down and try to blend in and follow the smell of food that he could smell was nearby. He was getting closer and closer to it when…

"Hey, sexy," A girl with spiky black and blue hair giggled, leaning heavily on Naruto's chest, her hands danced across his lower abdomen. "Where have you been all my life, care to dance?" She gave a cute expression that made him melt on the inside, but he had to decline.

"I wish I could take you up on that offer, but I'm afraid I can't dance, I'm sorry." He gave her a soft, apologetic smile and a tip of his shades, and motioned away from her quickly, feeling his cheeks burn with red when he felt her fingers give his butt a sharp pinch and she frantically called to him as he disappeared into the crowd. Naruto looked about from where he stood, and his shaded eyes looked over couples who seemed to be enjoying themselves and the atmosphere.

His stomach growled again, reminding of what his primary objective and the reason why he had come to building in the first place. He felt like he was on the verge of collapsing if he didn't get any food in his system, finally it hit him, and he spun around. There standing underneath what he believed to be a white, holy light from the heavens was a table stacked with food beyond his wildest dreams. There was so many different smells that it made his mouth water, and he hastened towards the food, practically in a daze.

He was close. So close that he could feel his teeth sinking into that gourmet and the cacophony of smells that lulled him, drew him, like a moth to a flame. He was but a few steps away from filling the empty void that was his stomach when somebody slid in front of him.

"Hmm, I hope you didn't come to ask me to dance because I don't swing in that direction." Naruto said, his arms folded across his chest, and the green skinned person with elf ears shook his hands rapidly and seemed to panic.

"No! no! I…Uh was wondering if you could tell me where the restroom was" The green kid smiled sheepishly, his voice was high-pitched and squeaky.

"Nope, I have no idea, now move," The green boy yelped when he was picked up and placed aside like an empty box. Naruto turned his full attention to the table, his eyes stared hungrily at the food before his very eyes and he could swear that drool was forming in his mouth and he didn't really care. He was _hungry._

_Alright, come to papa _He cooed mentally to his starving innards.

He reached a hand out to grab a slice of pizza, when a black energy suddenly encased his hand, freezing it in place. _What in the nine gates of hell_. He turned his head towards where the energy source was coming from.

As he turned, Naruto bumped his head against something hard and metallic, and shook his head slightly. He was staring at a rather strange teen made of metal; half of his face was made entirely of metal, complete with a glowing red eye, while the other seemed normal.

Naruto yanked and pulled against the strange, dark energy and surprisingly broke free from its hold. For some reason he didn't like the way they were looking at him like that, not at all. Slowly, without taking his eyes off of them, he began to back away, giving himself some distance.

"What the hell?" Naruto said, watching as two other people joined the robotic teen. A girl with a dark blue hood pulled up, covering her face and another girl with bright fiery red hair and orange skin, clad in a purple outfit that made her appealing.

"You're gonna have to come with us," the metal teenager said, just as the green skinned boy appeared beside the others.

Naruto simply stared at all of them, just when he thought tonight couldn't possibly get any weirder for him, this shit had to happen to him. What kind of messed up city was this?

"Please, do not be frightened," the girl with large green sympathetic eyes and orange skin spoke. "We do not wish to harm you."

The blond ninja couldn't help but listen to her as there was something in her tone of voice that made him relax, if only for a few moments. But that was all shot to hell when another teenager came to stand with the group. It was the kid from the roof, and boy did he look pissed. Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger at the spiky haired boy, he'd warn this guy specifically not to follow him, even after that royal cut hip he had just handed him not to more than an hour or so ago when he was exploring, and he still didn't listen.

Was this guy brain dead or something?

"You're a persistent _little boy _aren't you bird brain?" Naruto spoke calmly all of a sudden, his voice was like ice. "You couldn't beat me before on the roof by yourself, so you decided to get your friends involved. I really don't have time for your bullshit." He made a mad dash to the left, all the while avoiding bucking or bumping any of the other teens present.

"Titans GO!" Robin shouted, and they gave chase after him. Naruto could hear them giving chase as he moved swiftly, motioning through the deepest throng while keeping his head down so he wasn't so noticeable.

He could make out the door to the exit; he swerved around a group of females before he jumped over several heads of a small group that seemed shock.

"Whoa, how'd he do that?"

"Hey!

"Dude did you see that!"

_Damn it, can't I even get one, small, teeny, little break? Alright Naruto, stay focused. Come on you can do it! _Naruto slid on his knees between the legs of a woman who was shocked, and disappeared underneath the turntables. He was sure that they didn't see him in all of the confusion, so all he had to do was make it to the exit. Naruto slowly stuck his head out of the other side, before he got to his feet and sprinted and his face lit up and he grinned in triumph when he found salvation, which was the exit.

But just before he was able to make it, a loud voice shouted.

Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

A wall of black energy appeared before him, covering the doorway completely. Naruto banged on it several times, but he didn't break it as easily as he did the one before and he cursed mentally in his mind. His mind was quickly calculating the situation carefully as he didn't move from his spot.

"It's the end of the line for you," Robin spoke out, and his friends gathered around, blocking any other exit in case he tried to pull a fast one. "There's now where to run, now tell me, who are you!

"I don't need to tell you anything," Naruto's voice was harsh and cold as he shook his head. He didn't need to see if the boy's face red with anger and rage, he knew he was the by acceleration of his beating heart. "As it is you're becoming a bother, so why don't we skip the formalities and get right into it shall we."

"Titans Go!!!" Robin shouted and was the first one to react, having managed to slightly follow the high speed movements coming from the blond boy. He'd warned them when he arrived that this guy was dangerous and would have to use extreme caution when dealing with him. The saw for themselves the cuts and bruises he inflicted on him and took his word for it. Everyone got out of the way, except for Raven who quickly brought up a dark shield just in time to block a black blur that connected with her energy shield.

Her eyes widened in alarm when she realized it was him, his fist connected solidly into her barrier, the force of his strike surprised her as black shards came into her vision. The recoil from her exploding shield threw her backwards; his body was like a black blur of motion that seemed to be heading her direction. Raven erected another shield in an attempt the block the incoming strike, to stop it somehow, but it didn't even slow him down.

He faked the kick, and in doing so swerved skillfully around her defense, her eyes widened in surprise when she felt a presence behind her, and for her effort she was wrapped up tightly, and hit a pressure point on her neck. Knocking her out, Naruto had tied her up with a bunch of wires he took from underneath the turn tables and speakers when he started running away from these other teens, just as a safety measure in the event something like this happened.

"Friend Raven!" Naruto heard a gasp, looked up into the air only to be peppered by an assault from that red haired girl with orange skin. Her eyes blazed a fluorescent green that meant that she was visibly upset about what happened and she threw starbolts like nobodies business, but he simply ignored it by flipping out of the way. Skidding across the ground, he lashed out with the remaining wire he had left which wrapped around her ankle, and he yanked harshly bringing her down to earth.

Her head hit the ground with a thud, and for a moment she saw black spots in her vision. Not once did she see the shadowed figure that struck a nerve in her neck, rendering her unconscious and the green light died down.

"Starfire!" Robin yanked and sent a series of batarangs at him, wanting to get him away from his friend. But he didn't move, instead he simply swiped his hand up, slicing them in half. Naruto picked her up in his arms and blurred to where the robed girl was lying unconscious, her back against the wall and gently rested her next to the girl. His hand smoothed over a few stray strands of hair that was in her face, and he couldn't help a sigh.

_Alright, two down, three to go. _Naruto thought before standing and turning around, only to nearly meet the far end of a hairy fist. He ducked a series of blows coming from a gorilla that had green fur. It roared with anger as it seemed to come after him, but he calmly assessed the situation by catching one if its fists in his hand. clamping down on the knuckle hard. His body didn't budge and the gorilla seemed surprised by that.

Naruto struck three blows that each practically found their mark. The first smashed in a certain part of its jaw, the second chop in his windpipe which left him gasping and the last an elbow smash into one of his eyes. The green gorilla was sent flying back, smashing through a speaker which slammed into a wall and formed a good sized crater before Beast Boy fell to the floor in a heap of dust.

Heavy footsteps sounded in his ear, so he did a Chinese split just in time to avoid a punch that was aimed for the back of his skull. Naruto pushed himself into a handstand with both hands and landed a vicious kick to his ribs, and swerved both of his feet to sweep him off of his. Spinning and lifting him off of the ground momentarily before he flipped forward, Cyborg's eyes widened when he found his opponent practically in mid air with him, right before Naruto stamped down, sending him not only into the ground but also using his chest as a launch pad to spring himself air borne. Landing in a crouch with his legs spread, his facial expression never changed.

_Four down, one to go. _Naruto looked around the room the masked one, only to momentarily be surprised. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at this situation and found that Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg managed to get back up, despite the fact the latter two were breathing heavily from the bruises they got, and BB was sporting a wicked looking black eye. Naruto realized that Robin must have snuck around the room somehow, and brought the red head and the purple haired girl back to consciousness.

_This, is really starting to get annoying, _Naruto thought. _Why won't they just stay down?_

"Are you hurt?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy despite his own injuri

"Just my pride and my eye." Beast Boy grumbled, nursing his eye momentarily before he winced in pain. It stung like hell.

"You all only have yourselves to blame for underestimating me." Naruto made clear.

"Perhaps," Raven retorted, "But we will not make that mistake twice."

"We'll never be able to beat this guy like this," Robin advised, "Its obvious he's faster, stronger and smarter than he lets on, so we'll have to change tactics."

Naruto simply gestured for them to bring it; if they wouldn't listen to reason then he would have to continue beating some more sense into them. But truthfully, he felt like he was on the verge of collapsing as he realized his hunger kept growing and growing with each move he made.

_Damn it, my body is practically running on E and I haven't eaten a single thing since I came here. This is starting to get bad and I can feel my strength waning gradually and rapidly from the strain of just expending energy. I think I can maybe go one more round before my body gives out on me, but I don't want to take that chance. I gotta--_

The roof from above practically bent inwardly before it came with a death rain of metal, screws and bolts as a thunderous dark pink energy sparked from the opposite side of it. Not wanting to get crushed, Naruto rolled out of harms way, instinctively covering his head and face. He was flung even further by the explosion that shortly followed, and he was sure the teenagers that were after were blown away also.

Something heavy landed on top of him, he couldn't make heads or tails of what it was, and then it rolled off of him.

A wave of heat washed over Naruto almost instantly, hitting him like a solid brick wall, taking his breath away. The air seemed to turn acrid and bits of metal and rubble showered him, and a large dust cloud washed over him as more metal came down over his head. A barrage of loud crashes later and he vaguely recalled screaming before he saw black.

The Titans shakily got up to their feet, shaking the cobwebs out of their heads, before they realized what was going on. Teenagers were screaming their heads off and were making a beeline for the exits, metal was slowly raining down, and things became clear when they realized who it was.

"Darn it…" Robin bit out as he looked at three very familiar figures that stood in the distance. "It's the Troika"

"Sorry to rain on your little party Titans," a young girl with pink hair and equally with eyes with black cat like slits said. "But it looked like you were having so much fun and I hope you don't mind if we literally crash the party."

"Why are you guys doing here?" Robin questioned.

"Oh nothing much," Jinx shrugged casually, a smile found its place on her lips. "We were just in the neighborhood to pick up a very interesting package, of course"

"What package?"

"The kind that was capable of wiping your sorry butts of course, what else would I be meaning," Jinx looked over her shoulder slightly to her partner Mammoth, in his burly arms was a boy, but even at the distance she could had a clear view of the rise and fall of his chest and knew that he was unconscious but he was alive. They got what they were assigned to retrieve, and she turned back around and her smiled seemed to widen even more when the saw looks of alarm run across their faces. Their master would be pleased with their success.

"Let him go!" Robin growled as he stepped forward, despite the numerous injuries and the hopelessness of the situation of going through another fight. He refused for that guy to slip away from his fingers again. No, not when they were so close.

Gizmo couldn't help but guffaw at their expressions. Those idiots really believed that they would up and listen to him, ridiculous. "You must have snot for brains bird boy. You really think we're going to just up and hand you this guy, after watching everything we'd seen him do to you. You better think again!"

Gizmo pressed a button on his suit launching several rockets aimed directly at them from his jetpack. They wasted no time in dodging them, even though they did feel that they barely had any strength left in their bodies as they escaped the explosion. But to their dismay, it had been a distraction, a distraction they had needed to make their getaway, they were gone and Robin's roar of rage and frustration didn't help matters either.

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**Love it, hate it? Give me your feedback and honest, mature opinions and let me know. I should be able to have the chapter for my Naruto/Rosario crossover up real soon, but cross your fingers for me please.**

**Thank you **

**Dark Spidey.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Naruto Rise of the Fallen

It was both a memory and a nightmare.

_The sound of water woke him. It was a heavy, repetitive sound: water sloshing against something solid, over and over, as if he were lying in the bottom of a pool that was rapidly draining and refilling itself. There was a taste of metal in his mouth, and the smell of metal all around. He was conscious of a nagging, persistent pain in his stomach which radiated all over his entire body. With a groan, Naruto opened his eyes through slightly puffed lids._

_He was lying on a hard, bumpy metal floor painted with ugly yellow-gray. The walls were the same yellow-gray, except they seemed to resemble indentations of honeycombed. The room was low lit at best, bathing the entire room in an endless sea of shadows, though the shades were thick, he could well see in the dark just fine. _

_His last memory was of pain and metal, lots of metal being dropped on his head, and the battle hardened teen expected to find exactly that when he awoke. It took several seconds for his mind to process that, and much to his relief that wasn't the case. But it didn't mean that his current situation was any better. _

_A shuddering sigh left his lips as he rolled over and struggled on hands and knees, his head hanging down towards the ground like a wounded animal._

"_Damn." The thick whisper came through the cracked lips sounded strange to him. Perhaps he hadn't understood. "Damn!" he said again, and his mind started exploring his body to see what was left of it. He could feel his hands, wrists, ankles, elbows, knees and feet, despite that they were superlatively bound by strange metallic bonds that drained him of his chakra every time he tried to concentrate or mold it. He could move his head from side to side, even though it sent a knifing pain down his body and nearly brought tears to his eyes. He looked past the spots in his vision and could make out the bar of moonlight on the floor._

_It ought to be alright, but he just didn't want to move. His willpower had gone. He just wanted to sleep. Or even to die. Anything to lessen the violent automatic shaking pain that within him and all over him, stabbing, jabbing, hammering, grinding and pulverizing him till he felt like a complete and utter nothing._

_No, I won't let this beat me! Naruto thought, the will to live surged through him like a flood. Slowly, gradually he brought himself into a sitting position, tearing skin, straining limbs that threatened to pull out of place and causing further discomfort in the process but he ignored it and managed to survey the room he was in. It was twenty square feet, and what struck him as odd were the four walls that surrounded him. They weren't really walls, but instead were four, bright yellow curtains of light that seemed to pulse like traffic signals._

_Once the shock of it all passed, Naruto took a moment to calmly assess his situation. A single glance around room told him he was within a confined metallic space, with water clinging and dripping from the walls around him. No chairs, no food and no bed had been provided. _

_How the hell did I wind up here? Naruto thought slowly. His thoughts ran as thick and as sluggish as blood._

_From what he was able to tell, he was still within familiar territory, and by that he was still in Jump City. Clearly some time had passed since his battle with Robin and his friends, and someone had rescued him and dumped him within the confines of some kind of strange and bizarre prison. How much time, he didn't know. But the question was who'd find it within their hearts to rescue him, a complete stranger, and throw him in a place like this, and why?_

_Naruto gritted his teeth and crawled towards one of the floor glowing walls that surrounded him, and with some serious effort and strength on his part he got up clumsily to his feet, shaking his head of the red and black tides of darkness out of his vision. _

_Curiously he motioned towards one of the glowing walls. He could feel heat pulsing off of it as he got closer and closer. He pressed a naked foot out to touch it and received a gentle push back, as his reward. Naruto frowned and pushed harder, only for the wall to push back even more, and the heat increased to exponential levels in mere moments. And in his moment of frustration he lashed out with a titanic kick._

_The action rewarded him with an enormous push backwards, blasting him off of his feet. He flipped and skidded across the dirty floor on the other side of the room on his side. He didn't even try to get up. He was looking at his smoking, drooping leg and did his best not to scream._

_It was like he'd kicked Sasuke being protected by his Susanoo covered in the flames of Amaterasu. Bones were sticking out of his skin. His toes and foot were a bare mass of blood, tissue and flesh. His ankle was broken and practically crushed. Bones in his leg had snapped completely, and jutted out of the skin._

_Naruto gnashed his teeth so hard that they nearly cracked underneath the strain, a deep groan left his lips, but he didn't scream. His stomach lurched at the smell of his own cooked flesh, but he didn't vomit. He simply lied there, taking deep breaths as he corrected the position of his leg and felt a shudder left his cracked lips as he felt the bones beginning to regenerate the damage he'd caused to it. The skin over Naruto's legs and ankle was knitting together so quickly he could see it through his tear filled eyes. It was smooth once more, unscarred. _

_A tremor passed through him, his chest rose and he coughed violently, spitting up lumps of blood across the floor near his head as he tried to catch his breath._

"_That wasn't a very good idea."_

_The voice came from behind him. Naruto lurched up to his good knee, bringing about another coughing fit and turned around and found a middle aged man with thin, graying silver hair, thin body with a sharp face and piercing eyes garbed in white and gold robes. The man was staring at him, and Naruto couldn't help but feel like some kind of dangerous and exotic zoo animal._

_He smiled and began to talk again. "The barrier works on a molecular attraction principle," the man says. "The more force you exert, the more energy is transmitted within the barrier through your bonds, and—_

"_The hotter it gets. Sort of figured it out on my own, but thanks." Naruto's voice rasped, half his pain had fallen away from his leg and ankle. "I'm going out on a limb here and say that you're that one that had me brought here." It wasn't a question, but a statement._

"_Yes I am," the man answered with a broad smile. "My name is Sebastian Blood, but you may call me by my known alias, Brother Blood. I'm very glad to see that you're awake."_

_Even as tired as Naruto was, he could make out the two armed escorts dressed in black behind the robed man, soldiers with big guns trained on him as Blood took several steps forward towards the curtains of light, and in his presence it fell away until it died out. What he wanted to do was incapacitate his armed escorts with his good foot and use Blood's worthless hide for leverage. Blood could see it in his eyes. It amused him._

_Blood and his men entered the room. "Getting ideas, are we, Naruto Namikaze?" he asked with a smile._

_Naruto didn't answer, but instead bared his teeth and pronounced fangs. It was answer enough. Even in near pitch darkness, he could tell that the gesture was as real as the situation he found himself in. Not once did he ever take his eyes off of the robed monster before him. The fact that this man somehow knew his name naturally set off alarms in his head as he didn't even have any idea who this guy was at all._

_Brother Blood paused and then his voice became bright and cheery. "Before we start, Naruto," the man said. "I want to tell you something very important. If you do escape from me, which I'm pretty sure you won't given your current condition, I wouldn't recommend being out in the open so suddenly, especially after your little run in with the Teen Titans two nights ago." _

_Blood suddenly scowled. "You'll pardon me of course if I'm not doing this right. I've never had someone kidnapped before you see, especially a subject as interesting and fascinating as you._

'_What are you getting at?' Naruto thought quietly, pulling himself together. _

"_Now that we've gotten that out of the way I wish to convey to you an offer my dear boy. One I that I am sure you would be most interested in."_

_A long moment of silence passed between the two of them. _

_There was nothing, nothing in all the world that Naruto couldn't stand more than to feel helpless. He'd rather be smashed through the chest by a Kirin from Sasuke, or even be fighting Madara, though he had to admit that the fight resulted in his second near death experience. The first being when he fought Kabuto without any knowledge of what a medical ninja was truly capable of, and the end result was having the muscles of his heart nearly ripped to shreds. _

_Naruto didn't either bother wasting his energy to buck against his restraints. To do so would only cause more unnecessary harm to himself, he just knelt there and glared at Blood with as much contempt as he could possibly muster. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of air. "So, what's the hook? Where is this all heading exactly? _

"_I want you to be a student at my school. Are you interested ?"_

"_Excuse me?" Naruto inquired, not all too sure that he heard that properly. He was flummoxed by the suggestion that someone would go to all the trouble to kidnap him to coerce him into joining a school._

"_The hook is servitude and tutelage within my illustrious school. You can think of it as a sort of apprenticeship, just as long as you perform the classes we provide for you so you can become either an accomplished thief, a merc or whatever your heart desires. Of course if you choose to be my student, your services will be handsomely compensated, room and board will be provided for you and you may even get to achieve other additional benefits if I see you're being very cooperative. Interested?"_

_Naruto was silent for a moment. From the moment Blood had stepped into the metallic room and began his conversation with him, he was positive that he felt a mental probe scuttle across the surface of his mind. The ability at work had a different, more unnatural feel than that of the Yamanaka clan. Whereas the Yamanaka clan famed mental jutsus were like a spider, which moved agilely across the surface of one's mind, so long as the individual had the proper chakra supply, training, fundamental workings. Not to mention you needed a bit of creativity to truly get the full potential of the skill down packed, and the necessary timing and precision to perform it properly._

_Then whatever Blood was doing was reminiscent of an eight or nine year old poking at something interesting in his mind. Trying to takeover his body and bend him to his will. The man before him was slightly clever, and Naruto was using the term slightly very loosely, he wasn't the most intimidating, a bit fiendish and perhaps he did hold a considerable amount of charisma in the way he carried himself. _

_But Naruto did note that Blood was cruel, sadistic, and was willing to go to great lengths to get what he wanted and desired, which in this case was him being stuck in a cell naked and practically starving upon the verge of collapsing._

_No doubt it was supposed to cause some kind of psychological harm to his mind. Soften him up so that Blood could control his perception with persuasion and mind control to sway him to his side. Naruto wasn't a fool and neither was he stupid or naïve. Perhaps during his early days as a genin, yea, he was man enough to admit that he wasn't the sharpest piece of cutlery in the drawer. But that was then, and this was now._

_Naruto had had enough of apprenticeships to last him more than twenty lives. He sneered. "Why don't you take you generous offer and go fuck yourself with it."_

_Brother Blood leaned over and slapped him, hard. "You will speak to me civilly." His voice was cold and heartless._

"_Fuck you," Naruto said without intonation._

_Let's settle something now, shall we then," Brother Blood said, reached into his robes and pulled out a black control the size and shape of a book of matches. He pressed down on the button, hard. The pain slammed into Naruto's body fast and brutally, his knees buckled. He crashed into the floor, his body jerking into a helpless fetal ball. He gagged, struggling to breathe despite the sensation of his body being torn, shredded, ripped and mangled him with sadistic strength._

_Finally, the screaming red hell ended, leaving him to collapse in sweating nausea. _

"_Let's lay down a few ground rules, until I say otherwise, you're a dog on a leash. I say bark, your bark. And if I have to kick you, you'd better not bare your fangs at me! What I offered you was not a choice, but simply an ultimatum. Understand?" Blood asked with an unusual level of calm._

_What did the bastard do to me? Naruto thought as he fought through the pain, trying to figure what the hell was going on. It hit him then when he closed his eyes and mentally looked within himself, and what appeared to be tiny molecule sized machines attached to his cells, brain and a large number of his organs became visible in his minds eye. His eyes shot open and he glared defiantly at Blood. "What the hell did you do to me you son of a bitch!"_

"_Nanoscopic probes," Brother Blood explained with a toothy smile. "A little precaution I took while you were unconscious. Multipurpose kind of device really: a homing beacon, a little something to calm you down in the event you feel the need to be out of line. If you join me, if you swear to serve under me and my school, I will bring you any harm. But… if you disobey even the smallest of request, from me, I will not hesitate to annihilate you, Naruto. Make no mistake about that, I'm not a man to make threats, I make promises and I assure you I do keep my promises. So…will you accept my offer??" Blood held his hand out. "Or should I teach you to play dead?"_

_He did not answer. Rather, he closed his eyes again from the world around him.. Brother Blood waited for an answer, sure that his speech moved the young man to the point of speechlessness. Finally, his head lifted up past his lengthy metallic blond hair, revealing a blank and emotionless expression plastered on his face. Finally, his eyes met Blood, and he suddenly wanted to gasp and step as far away as possible, but instead he simply opened his mouth in a quick intake of breath._

_That was when Brother Blood and his armed escort felt the temperature in the room dropped to dangerously drastic levels. Arctic levels. Naruto's eyes flashed from metallic blue straight to glowing crimson pupils half hidden behind his hair. Blood felt a dribble of sweat pour down his forehead as he stared into the eyes of what he knew was anything but human. Those eyes sent a strong, raw tingle into the pit of Blood's stomach, and he was sure his armed escorts felt it all the same. It was fear. _

_Those two red beaming fires in the dark scared Blood to no end, his heart in his throat and the vitae ran cold within his veins. In person they seemed fierce and raw. They frightened him, even as he stood bravely before a young man, whom he was sure was more than capable of tearing his throat out without a second thought. Those dark red eyes had no simple emotion within them. No anger, no hate, no rage, just a look._

_Then slowly, deliberately, Naruto turned his head, reaching for his right shoulder with his mouth opened. Using chakra flow, his teeth easily pierced through the flesh and bone, Naruto growled as he increased his jaw strength tremendously as he bit as hard as he could. The right arm came off at the shoulder in a spray of blood, to the surprise and horror of Brother Blood and his men. Even when the regeneration process was already taking place, he didn't let up as he did the same with the left shoulder. Freeing himself from the bonds that restrained him_

_The man on Blood's left dropped his rifle to cover his mouth, vomit leaked through the gaps between his fingers and he lost control of his bladder as he ran out of the room without a second thought. His partner simply stepped back in complete and utter horror, strongly taken aback by what his eyes had actually seen. While Blood simply stood there, ramrod and rooted to his very spot. _

_His outstretched hand did not waver or move, but remained their calmly through sheer willpower._

_Then slowly, deliberately, Naruto spat blood at his side before he brought his hand up and clasped Blood's tightly. The man was sure that had he not employed his psychic force powers within his limb, his hand would have crumbled underneath the very strain. But it didn't stop him from wincing as the boy's pointed nails dug into his palm, which caused the remaining guard still standing in the room to raise his rifle at the teens head. _

_But Naruto ignored the sound of his knees knocking together, his heart rapidly pounding away at his very ribcage, and his breath short and uneven like he was going to faint at the very sight of his dismembered arms on the ground in a small pool of blood. He ignored the apparent evidence that Blood's remaining armed escort had lost control of his bladder and did the one thing he would make Blood understand._

_He shook it, firmly._

* * *

The loud, blaring and _annoying _sound of the alarm was stopped when a clawed, clenched fist smashed through it cleanly by an angry half awake Naruto. He closed his eyes for a moment he allowed the memory that had been made a reality slip away, and instead focused on the pleasant silkiness of the bed sheets against his bare skin.

His head was buried deep within the confines of a scented pillow. No doubt he'd been sleeping on stomach after he'd been placed into an unfamiliar room into an unfamiliar bed, practically too comatose to even care. Naruto swallowed hard as he gripped his messy bangs and head tightly before he slid out of bed, his bare feet clasped against the plush red carpet of the room before he stalked awkwardly towards the bathroom. He really needed a shower. A long one at that.

Rubbing the ache he felt growing between his eyes, he stretched luxuriantly as entered the bathroom, and turned the knob to extra hot as he climbed inside and closed his eyes.

Hot soapy water sprayed from the stall's nozzle, hitting his body from all directions. Naruto sighed in pleasure as he bathed himself off. He had nothing but brief dips in rivers or lakes since his personal war and stake against the Akatsuki, forcing him to constantly be on the move, to be on the look out. Putting him in the state of mind that everyday would be his last, when in actuality it was. Goodness he missed the pounding sensation of real hot water.

The battle hardened teen allowed his mind to go blank as he hung his head and every ache and pain he'd felt from being stuck in whatever uncomfortable position he'd felt when awoke in that hell hole was being lulled away by his steaming hot shower. Reflecting on his circumstances too much made his head hurt, literally. In a situation like this, Naruto knew that if he was going to survive, if he was ever going to have a fighting chance , then he had to pretend to submit to Brother Blood and his demands, regardless of how much his instincts screamed at him to find the man and tear his limbs off, slowly and painfully.

With a flip of his hand, Naruto tossed his soaked bangs hair out of his face and brought his hands up to massage his face. The hot water made the dried blood and dirt caked on his skin flow until the crimson black streams flowed down his legs and pooled down the shower drain. Sure he didn't sport any cuts or wounds to show that he'd been hurt, but the blood was still there, and it felt good to get it off of his body. He watched with interest as it swirled around and around like a watery cyclone down the drain.

He finally stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his damp hair straggling against his back in fragrant tangles. Passing the bedroom mirror, Naruto passed his own reflection and for a split second, acting on pure instinct, stiffened, thinking he'd spotted an enemy. He glanced at himself in the mirror, and for a moment he admired that everything was where it should be. He was much taller, leaner and more pronounced than the average male for a young man of six and a half feet, though he admitted that it was a rough estimation, with dark skin, blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. Though in his defense, he couldn't even recall the last time he'd look in the mirror, or any mirror for that instance.

Reassured that everything about his body was in its proper place, he studied his face with quick intent gaze. Now he knew why that older woman back at the warehouse seemed so fixated him; his features attracted their admiring attention and looks. His eyes were a bright blue that wasn't entirely human. His hair reminded him the color of ancient coins, a bright gold that wasn't entirely his and that gleamed like fur. His strength and determination were revealed in the strong lines of his face, accompanied by a sharp jaw, chin and an attractive nose. Thin full lips completed the picture, adding a sense of danger and excitement to his face. He was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the love child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

A dozen questions passed through his mind as he unsealed a scroll from his body and placed it down across the bed, placed his hand it and began the process of unlocking the seals binding it and the contents together. During his training with Ero-Senin, he'd long since learned that a person with an advanced knowledge of the art of sealing could pack with an economy of space. The scrolls sealed on and within his person contained far more than an observer might think at first glance.

To summarize, he was being coerced upon threat of death to attend some prestigious school for villains, all because he wanted a snack. He went through all that crap just too get to get one freaking snack. Black fury stab at his very being. The pain. The black shame of being a puppet to a callous man left a bitter taste in his mouth, and once again he had to regain control of his senses. Because if he didn't he was sure that he'd no doubt go on a rampage for blood, and that was the last thing he needed.

He needed to be calm, level and collected about the situation. He needed to simply go along with what this man had planned for him, learn more about this new world before he could make his move. Naruto knew that if he was ever going to stand a chance here, then he was going to have to play this smart, accept the opportunity that was presented to him and use it to his advantage. Learning, adapting and assimilating every piece of useful knowledge that he could get his hands on or die. And dying was the very; _very _last thing to do on his list.

Minutes after he'd finished taking the time dress himself, he took the time to take a gander of the room that he would call home for the time being. And he had to admit that he was impressed. Compared to his old one bedroom apartment, he had to admit that this place was like a palace, internally anyway. The walls were painted in a rich cream color with full skirting board and the usual furnishings. Paintings were hung up along the walls, and furniture of the finest design lavished along a red plush carpet, along with a wonderful view of Jump City thanks to a large window made this room look like something out a catalogue magazine.

The civilian clothes that he'd worn when he been taken in was resting comfortably within the room's closet; no doubt Blood saw to it that it was cleaned and made it so that his stay would be comfortable. Sure the man in question was a bastard, but he had to grudging admitted that he was a courteous bastard, especially going as far as to buy him several changes of clothing.

But Naruto didn't opt to put on anything that Blood bought him, instead he chose to wear something that was going to validate his so called villain status. And he was sure that this specific piece outfit would drive the point home. He was dressed in an oversized, familiar long black cloak with crimson clouds, with a crimson interior and a chin-high collar that covered the lower half of his face along with a red headband that functioned as a scarf around his neck, matching black cargo pants and boots, while wearing a silver ring with a sign engraved on the top that read _Zero_ on his right ring finger.

Putting aside the once hateful feelings he once felt against the organization that came so close to world domination, he gave himself a casual sweep and found that the uniform fit him perfectly. He'd made the right decision of stripping the bodies of other Akatsuki members when he made his mission to hunt them down one by one; after all the dead had no use for them. Not to mention that the outfit made him look and feel like a badass, and that dark colors suited him; bright vibrant colors did not.

Standing there in front of the mirror, he felt an odd sense of exhilaration mingled with a hollow pain in the middle of his stomach. And it was not because of the nanoscopic probes swimming around in his body, practically making him a living, breathing; walking time bomb. The pain was fear, he knew that. He understood the exhilaration, too. He was stuck in a new world, ready to jump head first into the unknown, and he was ready for it.

_You are not helpless. You will find your way. _Naruto told himself, before he shoved the sedge hat on top of his head and left the confines of his room. Where he was greeted by a purple robed individual, their face was covered, preventing him from telling whether they were male or female. But it was obvious to him that the person had been waiting patiently for him. Expecting him.

"I hope you've had sufficient rest, Mr Pein," At that point Naruto had to bite back a chuckle of irony after he heard the alias that he would be known by. "Please follow me, would you kindly." The person spoke emotionlessly, gesturing him to follow.

Naruto looked over his shoulder as his room door closed automatically; he could hear the click of the lock as they began to walk down the maze-like hallways. Passing by obscenely large bunker like doors, ID checkpoints, and a computer terminal hidden inside of an armored wall that took his retinal scan and logged it into the database. Along the way he'd been presented with thin band of black gold for his right wrist. Standard procedure he supposed. No doubt to give him access to certain areas within, but not everywhere. Not yet anyway.

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head; and wonder just what else did this crazy place had in store for him.

* * *

Hive Academy was a _huge_, a vast cavernous space that looked like it had been designed according to floor plan and more like it had been created by a tribe purple clad yuppies. It resembled a sprawling monument of cutting edge architecture and technology that had been pumped by a splendor of wealth for years. Naruto rode in a somewhat impressive looking lift, leaving upper levels behind, coming towards the lower levels downstairs. Very sleek, stainless steel seemed to be something of a design constant, from what his eyes were able to perceive. It looked clean at least, if perhaps a bit cold.

The teen sighed as he glimpsed several of the architectural design and inwardly he couldn't help but feel impressed by the technological advances of this world.

When the lifts doors opened, Naruto's eyes took in the change of decoration, and he was a bit impressed. The main levels of the Hive seemed exquisitely nice. The walls were a mixture of stainless steel and honey colored gold, the same with the floors; both in which had a honeycomb like pattern. Large, various paintings seemed to line the walls, some with old faces, other's with young faces that he did not recognize. While everything looked rather nice and expensive, the place had a rather lively feel to it,

Naruto continued to follow the man in purple as he steered him from one corridor to another. No doubt the man (?) was doing this for his benefit; wanting to him to familiarize himself with the environment.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of what had appeared to be mindless walking around, the robed figure brought him to the correct classroom, and went on his way. Naruto stood in front of the door, eyes closed as he rapped lightly on the door. He took a deep, calm breath. Readying himself for the long days ahead of him and strode into the class with slow, deliberating steps when the door slid open with an audible hiss of the hydraulics.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in today class. It looks like we got ourselves a new student."

Naruto remained silent as he removed his sedge hat from his head, and stood face to face to who he assumed was his teacher for the day. The teacher was a tall, stoic, adjutant broad shouldered man who wore a M42 Greatcoat with the neckguard turned up, and a M43 officer's cap that concealed a mop of silver hair that fell past his shoulders. Big, black eyes stared at Naruto intently, no doubt regarding him and studying him.

"I apologize for my tardiness," Naruto replied stoically. "I have yet to learn my way around this place, yet." He felt it was best to leave out him being taken around in near circles unmentioned.

"It's quite alright, boot." The teacher's tone was gruff, thick with a German's accent, and he paced up to Naruto with a swagger that couldn't be missed. It conveyed confidence, power and his eyes didn't even blink "As you may or ma not be know, I am The Captain; or Cap for short. And you would be Mr…" The Captain let the words hang into the air; his dark eyes never left the youths face as he sized him up.

"Pein, just call me Pein.

The Captain's eyes glittered something fierce. "Ahhh, so your Brother Blood's newest… addition to the Hive. I was just informing my class that I was looking forward to seeing you go head to head with one of my best students. After all, it is a rare feet to go up against the Teen Titans, despite being severely handicapped and still come out the victor."

Naruto noted that several of the students stared at him vacantly, some with curiosity and interest, while the remainder with dark malicious intent. He turned his head and looked among the small class curiously. Perhaps a few people stood out a bit. A thin boy with gray skin and red eyes, and a girl with a vivid head of blond hair.

"Now then, Pein, I do hope you don't mind but I set up a little…… challenge for you. You see, there are a few there that don't believe that you have what it takes."

Naruto could care less if they believed it or not.

"So I devised a rather interesting idea, one that I think that might interest you of course, are you interested?"

_Do I really have a choice? _Naruto thought darkly, already knowing the answer to that question, _no_. He was sure that the man was simply asking out of necessity. He gave a shrug. "Sure, I'm interested, but what do you have in mind?" he couldn't help but question the instructor, who gave him an all too toothy grin which made him very suspicious.

* * *

Naruto oriented himself as he entered the combat room.

The combat room looked exactly the way something called "the combat room" sounded like it would look. The stainless titanium steel floors and walls seemed thoroughly polished to a glossy sheen and he was met what appeared to be even more students. A whole flock of them really, sitting high up on the bleachers, costumed eyes watched him interest and something else he couldn't decipher.

His ears perked to the small whispers and murmurs of the other teenagers, and he couldn't help but feel like he was the new hot topic within the Hive.

Bloody hell.

"All right boot, we're going to take you out for a little test drive, so just do what your best, and try not to die." Naruto heard Cap's voice over some kind of speaker he couldn't see, the room smelled of steel and polish. He could see the others looking at him, watching, waiting and Naruto couldn't help but be prepared. Not knowing what to expect.

Suddenly, a large hatch in the middle of the room opened up and a platform rose up from it. Standing on said platform was a figure, which Naruto assumed would be his opponent sitting in a cross legged position. It was a young masked woman with pale skin who wore a kimono that looked like it belonged to a super model. It was green in color with elaborate and intricate gold designs. The sleeves were long enough to hide her hands out of plain sight and the outfit was long enough to fit her every curve like a second skin, and it was held by a black and green sash that was tied tightly around her waist.

Her long braided black hair fell freely down over her shoulders, and she wore a white porcelain cat face mask, and on her feet she wore high heeled black boots with green stockings. She was lithe with a fair amount of muscle and an impressive physique for a young woman her age.

_Now, she must be really good if she's wearing those shoes to engage someone. It's obvious she's seen combat before, and I'm guessing those sleeves of hers are suppose to draw my visual attention off of her and to be used as a distraction from the real danger. That's pretty interesting. _Naruto thought as he watched the young woman stand on her feet, and stared at him for a few moments.

He could tell that she was watching intently behind her face mask, reading any small tells his body may give away as to how skilled he was; she was gauging him. To be honest, Naruto felt kind of odd being stared at like that by a young woman in such a manner, and had he been his old self, he was sure that he wouldn't have thought much about or said something stupid to upset her. But he was not his younger, ignorant, dense self, he was different. He was smarter and more humble than he was before, and he was interested in what she was capable of.

"Now then boot, I'd like to introduce to you one of my most promising students as your opponent, Cheshire. Cheshire, this is the young man I told you about, say hi!" The Captain spoke, Naruto gave a polite smile and a wave and the young woman known as Cheshire quietly gave a small head nod, acknowledging him.

The older gentlemen couldn't help a smile, his eyes motioned one fighter. He could feel the wary controlled tension in the room crackling between them both like an electrical impulse. Oh this was going to be good, really good. "Now that I've introduced you both, you may begin_"_

Just as the words left his mouth, Naruto watched before his very eyes Cheshire took a single step, right before she disappeared completely. The action surprised him for half a second.

"Wow, there's something you don't see everyday." Naruto brought his arm up just in time to block a clawed swipe that was aimed at his protected neck, his eyes narrowed at that for a second. He refused to let the only visible memory of his home to be scratched or dinged anymore than it already was, no, he wouldn't let that happen. Naruto lashed out with an elbow strike with his left to her chest, followed by a twist of her wrist with his right and a swift kick into her stomach which sent her flying back.

The quick blows staggered her, and she was barely able to land on her feet properly, her arms wrapped around her pained stomach. Cheshire couldn't help but cough and sputter behind her mask. She was caught off guard by his cobra like reflexes and his counter which knocked the breath out of her completely, though her eyes quickly widened in surprise as her instincts told her to look up, she did and she met the grinning face of Naruto hanging in mid air. _No way!_

She ducked out of the way of a spin kick that was aimed for her head, which in turn slammed into a wall behind her. Sending giant spider cracks across the surface, along with jolts of electricity. Cheshire was completely on the defensive and moved with superior speed to dance and moved around his bone crushing punches and kicks, and she followed a roundhouse kick with a punch to his jaw. But he took the hit, spun along her outstretched leg, grabbed her by the back of her kimono and spun her around in high speeds before he threw her over his shoulder. She hit the ground, hard.

Cheshire growled before she jumped back to her feet and met Pein head on yet again, despite the fact that it had quickly dawned on her that he was good. Good enough to use acrobatics that were beyond what a normal person was capable, heck Cheshire was even sure that he was making Jinx green with envy; and she was a grade A gymnastic. The female Vietnamese ninja couldn't help but be in slight awe and bewilderment of his physical prowess, she, like man others had heard from the mouths of Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth and Brother Blood himself that he took down the Titans by himself.

Of course Cheshire was a bit skeptical at the claim, not that the Teen Titans were impossible to beat mind you, but their team work and choreography gave even some of the toughest villains within Jump City pause. Heck she even had believed that the four had simply said it for kicks, but when The Captain approached her with offer of facing the young man himself in a one on one match bout, she readily accepted. After all she'd been dying for a chance to improve her skills, and now she had it right before her very eyes.

She was going to milk this for all that it was worth, right down the very last drop. But there was something that she noticed that drew her attention. It was not something most humans would notice, heck perhaps even a psychologist as skilled as Brother Blood would notice, but her intuition as a female warrior brought it to her attention; actions usually revealed an individuals true nature, and her opponent was no exception.

His motions, stances, punches, kicks, blocks and counters indicated to Cheshire that he had stared into the face of war and death numerous times. There was a myriad of emotions and feelings that confused and baffled her, and if anything made her even more curious than she was before. There was no arrogance, no anger, no rage or malice within the actions he made, and if anything she felt a heartfelt deep sorrow within him. Within his heart. Cheshire sensed it the moment she accidently made the move to strike at the headband around his neck, and she further studied his actions to perceive what she believed may have happened.

It was obvious to the young woman that it was a very special keepsake that belonged to someone that cared deeply for him, someone who had died in an incident and their death affected him, scarred him deeply. He didn't know her very well, maybe an acquaintance perhaps, she guessed, but even so the result was catastrophic. No doubt the end result brought about the man she saw before her now. She could sense that he was alone and scarred in such a way, so much so that it felt like life itself had abandoned him. Even now as they fought she picked up a small scent, as faint as it was, it was still there.

The cloth he wore around his neck was a dark crimson color, a _very _crimson color to be considered a dye, but what confirmed it was the small, but subtle metallic scent that came from it. The only reason she was aware of it was because she knew that scent all to well in her childhood, being trained and raised to be a master of hand to hand combat. It was the smell of blood.

Cheshire simultaneously back flipped and blocked his strike. The force of it surprised her, and the recoil threw her backwards. She caught her footing as he jumped. Over her he spun and forced her to be on the defensive with a series of blows so rapid that she barely caught sight of them all.

* * *

Meanwhile, within the sanctity of the control room that was fifty meters off of the floor, The Captain, Brother Blood and a potential client watched from their seats with vast interest as they viewed to the engagement in HD on several monitors marked MOTION, INFARED, DOPPLER and PASSIVE. Brother Blood leaned forward in his seat towards one of the technicians and whispered something in his ear.

The tech felt a shiver trickle down his spine and nodded quickly, and did as he was told by his master. His fingers blazed across the computer screen, right before he slammed his palm into a large red button.

* * *

Naruto blocked a punch which was meant to move him into a position of a snap kick, which like the first attack was meant to move him into position for another attack. A swipe aimed for his fifth and sixth rib was deflected by easily; the same with a flattened palm strike aimed for his jaw was blocked easily with the back of his wrist. Normally, Naruto had little trouble dodging the average foe, but then again Cheshire was a little different. Her fighting style was very strange; she was something between a dancer and a savage fighter with the embodied grace of a cat.

There was no doubt in his mind that he could run circles around this girl, but he wanted to get a feel of her style first. Test the waters so to speak, and now it was time for him to blow off a little steam and have a bit of fun.

He jumped back just in time when he quickly heard different sound from all over the place, and he realized that several platforms suddenly rose out of nowhere, and the ground underneath the pillars sunk to the sides. Leaving the platforms as the _only _available footing, meaning if either of them dropped (namely Cheshire in particular), it was going to be a _long_ way down, and he already had a rough idea of what would happen to her if that happened. Cheshire took his moment of studying his surrounding as her chance, she soared through the air and removed four smoke bombs from her kimono and threw them across the platforms, which on contact quickly exploded in a plume of black smoke.

_Smoke bombs huh, not bad. Not bad at all. _Naruto was intrigued by the young girl's change of tactics. She was trying to rob him of his vision and come out with a surprise waiting for him, so he closed his eyes and waited.

Cheshire swiftly followed after him, accompanied by twin katana blades that she had taken from a hidden side compartment on the pillar that they'd been standing on from the moment the smoke bomb had no doubt blinded sided her opponent; giving her the advantage. She followed through with a series of swipes that no doubt would have turned a normal man to kibble and bits; bloody kibble and bits. But Naruto simply dodged the ferocious attacks, tucked in his legs and jumped clear through the smoke and landed gracefully with his feet sticking on the ceiling.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction where Naruto had landed, and the reaction that most people had was of surprise. Even The Captain, Blood and their potential client was deeply surprised by the course of action.

"Now, it wouldn't do me any good that your getting serious and I'm not so," Naruto clapped his hands, which resonated throughout the large stadium as he emitted his chakra into the environment. "Suiton: Suishōha!" He yelled, creating a giant, spiraling vortex of water out of thin air which then exploded from the top of the ceiling as it rained down around Cheshire, filling up the battle field until the only thing left to stand on were the large platforms that had elevated from earlier.

Cheshire couldn't help but raise an eyebrow underneath her mask, looking down at the water that her opponent had somehow magically summoned out of thin, freaking air. Of course she'd been deeply surprised by the action, But the question that really plagued her mind was, why?

Why hadn't he thrown it at her when he had the element of surprise up his sleeve, she was sure that it would have caused some serious damage and caught her by surprise had it struck dead on. Cheshire shook her head, and mentally began to psyche herself up. She could take this guy. No matter what kind of fancy tricks he had up his sleeves, she could take him

"You don't think a bit of water is enough to scare me, do you?" Cheshire spoke confidently. But her confidence had been shaken drastically, especially since up until this point, she'd never fought anyone capable of pulling a lake out of their ass. That shit just wasn't common, save for Metahumans, and even that was less likely as they usually needed a source to help them achieve the task. If that wasn't scary in itself, she didn't know what was.

Naruto smiled as he dropped from the ceiling, landing on top of the water without so much as making a ripple. "It's all a matter of opinion, now isn't it, Cheshire. Suiton: Goshokuzame!" he called again, placing his hand on top of the water. All Cheshire saw was a large ripple cast across the surface, but there were no signs to reveal what he'd had done to the water. Below the surface she could make out shades moving, seeing only enough to make an assumption; they were freaking huge. "Now then, shall we continue where we left off?" he asked

Naruto jumped from the water's surface, beginning his speedy descent towards her. She jumped towards him in turn. He dodged and weaved around her sword swings, and the kick aimed at his side, and countered by wrapping chakra strings around her body and readily threw her across the water's surface. Cheshire bounced across the water's surface, which felt like wet concrete before she landed on another of the honeycombed shape platforms.

One of her swords skidded out of her hand, across the polished surface and into the watery depths below. Cheshire gave a groan of pain, before she picked herself up and turned to where one of the katana she'd wielded fell. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what had been lying underneath the surface of the lake. Underneath her mask the color from her face drained, and she was sure that she heard a loud number of gasps resonating from the crowd.

She looked at Naruto incredulously. "Sharks?! Are you fucking serious?!"

"But of course, why should I go easy on you?" Naruto asked. "Your opponent won't."

Cheshire had to jump out of the way when she realized a shark jumped out of the water, floated in mid air and attacked her head on. Upon closer inspection, the sharks seemed to be made of water. That meant conventional attacks wouldn't work. However, Cheshire didn't know that. She was soon to learn though, when she tried to slice it right down the middle. Needless to say, it wasn't a great idea. Her slash cut through the shark's back, but it soon restored itself with the surrounding water and whipped around at the masked girl again.

_Damn it! _She thought as she lunged to her left. The shark fell below the surface, but the others were already converging on Cheshire's position with the defined definition for celerity.

"You're only making this harder on yourself!" Naruto called out. "You're only going to get yourself killed!"

Cheshire's masked eyes widened as suddenly, all five sharks jumped out and attacked at once, lunging at her viciously. It turned out for better or worse(depending on how you looked at it) as the shock of the attack broke her concentration, and she lost her footing because of the water that had splashed the surface of the platform she had been standing on, and she fell below the waters surface. Subsequently, the sharks crashed into each other, exploding in a magnificent burst of water.

She quickly swam towards a dry platform and pulled herself up, panting and sweating heavily from her ordeal. Her brows furrowed as he fought to catch her breath as she sought to fight through the pain.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement, and deeply impressed with her. "Had enough yet?" he asked calmly.

Cheshire got back up, realizing that he was practically in front of her, but she didn't dare charge him. She stood tense, at this point telling herself to expect just about anything and everything from this guy. Her katana poised as she reevaluated her tactics a bit. Finally she rushed, more carefully this time and slashed with her blade, which followed by a swipe of her metallic claws on her left hand.

She continued her onslaught of well timed swipes from every direction that she could think of, every maneuver and form that came to mind flashed in her movements. But not once was she able to land a direct strike on him, any that had any effect on him. That made her even more determined to fight back, made her determine to win.

Cheshire armed herself briefly with a series of throwing stars, before she sent them singing through the air towards her target, aiming for vital organs. However, like many throwing stares, they were ringed and hollow inside, for better accuracy.

_Terrible choice of action. _Naruto thought, catching the throwing stars with chakras strings, barely needed to inch his finger to catch it. The crowd gasped and Cheshire's eyes widened yet again as what appeared to be nothing keeping the stars from falling to the ground.

How did…" Cheshire started, but Naruto simply shook his head.

"I don't walk into a battle without a plan, neither without the surroundings in check." Naruto said, he raised his hands in a motion. The deadly chakra filaments emanating from his fingers spun in various directions, hissing, whistling and howling like the wind as they tore apart the five throwing stars that had been tossed at him earlier. Yes, he could have thrown them back, an eye for an eye, but he chose not to out of necessity.

Naruto kept his fingers fluid and light, allowing the threads of chakra strings, lined with his wind nature to appear before her very eyes, flickering in and out of sight, actually managing to mystify Cheshire.

"What… are those?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Try attacking me again… and you may just find out." Naruto suggested cheerily.

Cheshire blinked owlishly behind her mask, before she scowled, realizing that she'd found herself yet again in awe of her opponents strength and abilities. A flash later, she was down, bending like a frog and then lunging forwards with the fierceness of a tiger. Swinging her sword across in a cross slash, while pressing her weight behind the blade.

Naruto easily sidestepped the attack and struck Cheshire with a left hook to her kidney. The pain was enough to make her pause; her vision spiraled, making her vulnerable. And there was virtually no one better trained to exploit that better than Naruto Namikaze.

He allowed his fingers moved with the grace and skill most surgeons would envy; and slashed apart her katana causing it to break apart like cheap glass with help of his chakra string shaped filaments. Cheshire's yelp of surprise was cut off when Naruto struck a pressure point in her right leg. Numbing it completely.

It was at that exact moment she knew that she lost the fight. Barely able to stand, she quickly shifted her tactics to defense, a good if not predictable strategy given her situation. Her mistake however, was thinking that Pein would attack her weakened lower body now that she could barely move her legs. Naruto knew he would think that.

The first fist was all it took. Cheshire's mask cracked heavily, she saw stars on the edge of her vision, and she felt as though her head exploded as another blow connected to the back of her head. The next thing she remembered was her ass hitting the ground and then darkness.

…"hear me, Cheshire? Cheshire, can you hear me?"

Cheshire tried to open her eyes, both slightly swollen. She wasn't surprised to find herself on a stretcher, unable to move at all. Hell, considering her rep, she'd been more surprised to find herself unrestrained. Not that she had any fight in her at the moment, Pein had seen to that.

"Yea… I hear you," Cheshire croaked.

"How do you feel?" One of Brother Blood's EMT asked, and at that point Cheshire wished she had the strength to just slap him silly for asking such a question. But the simple thought of it made her groan in pain.

"Like shit." Cheshire replied weakly. "Where's… Pein?"

"He's over there," replied the robed medic, pointing him out. Cheshire forced her swollen eyes open and glanced towards the exit of the combat room. She could make out the male figure that stood in the frame of the doorway, casting her a glance she couldn't readily decipher before he left the room without looking back

* * *

"Interesting, very interesting." Brother Blood looked back to see her potential client, now staring at the carnage below from the glass windows. She was a tall young woman with long, platinum blond hair that was enough to cover the left side of her face, which hid underneath a black eye patch, while a single cold grey eye was left visible on the right. She wore a dark suit and a dark grey trench jacket, along with white gloves that took the cigar from her deep, crimson colored cupid bow lips that complimented her slightly pale skin. "I must say that was a rather amusing, but tell me more about…_him._

Blood's grin faded with distant stare of curiosity at the sharpness of her tone. "He's…… a rather interesting and strange case."

"Hmmm, how so?" The young woman stared at the television screen, and she couldn't help but wonder; was it the evident skills that had her eye fixated on the man, or was it perhaps his eyes that drew her attention.

* * *

**About freaking time! I gotta say folks, this particular chapter gave me trouble for weeks on end, you hear me, freaking weeks on end. I'm sure in total I'd wrote this chapter at least more then thirty times and had to scrap each and everyone, but now I feel a bit glad that I'd been able to pull through. So far it has just about everything I wanted to say in it, along with several things which I know people hadn't expected at all. But, I hope this chapter is a breath of fresh air for you boys and girls as it has been for me, I had a lot of fun with the battle between Cheshire and Naruto as it gave me some serious flexibility and left me with even more ideas to implement in the next chapter.**

**For now send me your honest, mature feedbacks and opinions, and I'll get right on the next installment.**

**I'd like to thank everyone for their support and your words of encouragement for making this story happen. Seriously, I couldn't have done it without a push in the right direction. And if any of you have questions of any sort, please do not hesitate to ask me and I'll do my best to get back to you on it.**

**Thank you kindly.**

**Dark Spidey.**


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